From Pablo Picasso’s “Bottle and Wine Glass on a Table (1912) to rapper Drake’s hit song about Moscato “Do It Now,” wine and creativity have often gone hand-in-hand with many visual, literary and recording artists referencing wine in their works. On Dec. 15, the exhibition Art Enology hosted a gallery talk on this very subject with art and wine experts, as viewers sipped on wine courtesy of sponsor, Simone International/Papi.

Exhibiting artist and panelist, Jeremiah Drake noted that wine’s ability to free oneself of inhibitions serves as a great creative tool. “It helps people tap into their inner shaman and inner creative side,” he says. “Throughout history human beings have always sought out substances that freed them from their everyday drudgery.”

As a welder, fellow exhibiting artist and panelist, Janet Goldner cannot afford the risk of mixing wine with the act of creating art. Nevertheless the concept of the exhibition of repurposing a wine bottle into art was enough to stimulate her creative senses. “You’re considering this object never thought of as art material and then there are lots of different things that occurred to me. So I kept working and working until it happened. In the process there are all of these continuals.”

Art Enology curator and moderator Souleo then led the discussion to the topic of rapper Drake. With his shout-out to Moscato on the song, “Do It Now,” Drake simultaneously helped skyrocket sales of Moscato while attracting the ire of some connoisseurs who frowned upon his choice to mix the sweet drink with “lobster and shrimp.”

Michael Cavanagh, journalist for Wine Enthusiast, The Culture-ist believes that Drake and others should be free to drink as they wish. “People have gotten too carried away pairing wine and food as if it has to be in a box with written rules,” he says. “Wine is made to be enjoyed and so if that makes Drake happy, then great.”

Megan Wiig, Mutineer magazine columnist and founder of Wine Wise Consulting took the point one step further praising hip-hop’s creative integration of wine in music and subsequent influence on the wine industry. “Rappers have embraced many different beverages and helped them become huge bestsellers. So we will find different cultural mediums exploring wine and rapping about it and I am all for it. I think any new cultural niche is gonna help forward the wine business.”

Finally Dustin Nelson, marketing director of the venue, (Le) Poisson Rouge and founding editor of InDigest Magazine reflected on how the former rebelled against  tradition by encouraging the mix of classical music and wine. “Classical music tends to be a little stuffy and people say don’t drink while you listen to it. But there is a symbiotic relationship between art and drinking,” he notes. “Part of that creative process is finding new juxtapositions and ways of putting life together.”

On that note it appears that wine and the arts are forever inseparable and to that, cheers!

For more information on the upcoming Jan. 12 gallery talk, click here.